March Along

Uncle Sam is uncertain no longer. We are moving ahead with the Active Duty Army Chaplaincy. Some highlights that led to this transition:

• Throughout the winter, I was in the process of transferring to the North Dakota National Guard to make my military service more compatible with ministry here in Buffalo. The trickiest part of this was getting my chain of command to release me from the Reserves. It took months, so hold that thought until we get a few bullet points down.
• In April, I performed some Annual Training days at Fort Lewis near Seattle, WA. Curiously, the particular chain of command to which I was assigned had a majority of Presbyterian chaplains (this doesn't happen). Each one took me aside to tell me that I should go into Active Duty, that this is who I am and I need to get with the program. Not news I wanted to hear, but these are elders in the church who had nothing to gain by telling me this, so I had to listen.
• By mid-May, I could no longer wrestle with the guidance of the Fort Lewis chaplains privately and was beginning to be a burden to Amy with my moodiness about the whole affair. I contacted some old mentors. The consensus was I was likely Army-bound. I struggled with guilt at the thought of leaving the church here.
• I reached out to Tom, an elder at our church here to get his insight into two things: 1) why I felt like I was still an outsider in our community unable to generate much traction in my outreach, and 2) what he thought about the Army stuff. Part of this conversation included some doctrinal matters about which I am not totally in sync with the church. We agreed to pray specifically about the Army.
• Toward the end of May, all my National Guard paperwork was approved. A decision had to be made immediately, or I'd be stuck with a service obligation in North Dakota. We made the decision to move ahead.
• The transition to Active Duty is a massive ordeal. I began the paperwork in June and completed it at the end of August.
• In August I graduated from seminary.
• Last week, I was approved for ordination by the PCA. One of the most difficult experiences of my life. "There's a reason it's called a trial," one of the pastors at presbytery commented.
• I received word today that I've been approved to move forward.

We don't know where we're going. We don't know exactly when. But there's no turning back now that the Army has my signature and wants to use it.